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The Wire – Week 7: Shiancoe on the Move

Here are our waiver wire candidates for week seven. As usual, you’ll find players who are either [Startable], a [Stopgap] to get you past a BYE or injury, [Worth a look] and spot on your bench, or [One-week-wonder]s who don’t warrant a roster spot, so you make your roster moves accordingly. You’ll also see the percent owned in parenthesis (and if you see an asterisk by the players name, it means they’re on a BYE this week.)

This week there are again a ton of receivers on the list, with many of them not worth a roster spot at the moment (but you’ll still want to keep an eye on them.) At the other positions though, you can see that the talent is getting pretty thin, so keep that in mind when putting in your waiver claims. We start with one of Brett Favre’s favorite red-zone targets…

Tight Ends

[Startable]Visanthe Shiancoe, MIN (77%) – With two touchdowns on Sunday, Shiancoe has graduated from being a Stopgap to being very Startable in my books.

[Startable]Jermichael Finley, GB (47%) – Finley now has 11 catches for 182 yards and a touchdown in his past two games. Expect Aaron Rodgers to continue looking the athletic tight end’s way in future weeks (against a relatively easy schedule.)

[Startable] * Tony Scheffler, DEN (21%) – His numbers are similar to Finley’s over the past two games and he’s now a viable option on fantasy teams with Orton looking his way often.

[Worth a look]Zach Miller, OAK (42%) – He’s back on here after this week’s performance, but don’t expect the same production from week-to-week. He’s only worth starting if you have very little options at tight end.

Quarterbacks

[Startable] * Kyle Orton, DEN (81%) – With two touchdowns in each of the past three games, Orton should at least be the backup on one team in every league out there.

[Worth a look]Shaun Hill, SF (32%) – I only list Hill here because it’ll be interesting to see what the addition of Michael Crabtree does to this offense. Do not use him in the near future unless you absolutely have to.

[Worth a look]Chad Henne, MIA (17%) – He looked good going into the BYE week, but now he has a few solid defenses on the schedule.

[Worth a look]Julian Edelman, NE (4%) – Just kidding! But he might qualify as a quarterback in your league and he could put up a few points each week (in case you start Mark Sanchez or something!)

[Stopgap]Matt Cassel, KC (66%) – His numbers aren’t going to blow you away, but he’s a decent play if you’re really in a bind and need a few points from the position.

Running Backs

[Worth a look]Beanie Wells, ARI (49%) – Although he seems to have developed a fumbling problem, the coaches are still trying to increase his workload as the weeks go by to see what he can add to a stagnant running game. He’s worth a look if you have little depth at the position.

[Stopgap]Jamal Lewis, CLE (71%) – He had a terrible time running the ball against the Steelers, but he’s still the starter and should get plenty of carries as long as the game remains competitive.

[Stopgap]Mike Bell, NO (51%) – It looks like Bell will assume the role of touchdown-vulture in the offense, which isn’t good news for Pierre Thomas owners. Bell could be a BYE week fill-in withe hopes that he can score a touchdown or two for your team.

[Stopgap]Laurence Maroney, NE (40%) – I’m pretty sure this game was an anomaly, with Maroney taking advantage of a Sammy Morris injury and snowy conditions to run all over the Titans. He might be worth a start this week if you need RB help, but after that his value probably sinks back to pre-Week 6 level.

[Stopgap]Justin Fargas, OAK (13%) – He didn’t do anything special (87 yards rushing), but as long as the Raiders can keep games close, it’s obvious that they like running the ball and you might have a use for him on your team.

Wide Receivers

[Startable]Steve Breaston, ARI (75%) – He should be owned in most leagues anyways, but with Anquan Boldin hurting himself on Sunday, Breaston should be prepared for a potentially increased role this week.

[Startable]Sidney Rice, MIN (75%) – With his 176 yard performance against the Ravens, Sidney Rice has solidified himself as a WR2/3 candidate for the rest of the year (unless something changes dramatically.)

[Startable]Hakeem Nicks, NYG (54%) – In the past three games his completions have increased and he’s found the endzone each time. Along with Steve Smith and Mario Manningham, Nicks now makes for a very startable option in a much improved Giants passing game.

[Startable]Lance Moore, NO (40%) – It looks like Moore has continued right where he left off last year after returning from injury this week. Drew Brees looked his way often and he found the endzone, so I’m ready to start him confidently once again.

[Worth a look]Eddie Royal, DEN (75%) – If your league awards for kick/punt returns, then Royal is startable. Otherwise, he’s probably not worth the trouble until he can prove himself in the passing game

[Worth a look]Michael Crabtree, SF (72%) – Crabtree should get his first start this coming week, so get out your popcorn!

[Worth a look]Mohamed Massaquoi, CLE (38%) – I told you last week not to give up on Massaquoi. As long as the Browns can put together some semblence of offense, Massaquoi should put up some decent numbers.

[Worth a look]Austin Collie, IND (70%) – The Colts play the Rams this weekend…making Collie a great start.

[Worth a look]Jeremy Maclin, PHI (76%) – Maclin played the “Massaquoi vanishing act” this week, with one catch for a measely six yards against the Raiders. Expect him to bounce back in a big way against Washington in week 7.

[Worth a look]Mike Wallace, PIT (26%) – He’s been good for about two catches and 50 yards the past few weeks. I expect his numbers to increase as the season goes on and he makes for a decent WR3/Flex play right now.

[Worth a look]Anthony Gonzalez, IND (52%) – Gonzo will be back from injury soon and it’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the offense. Will he take back the WR2 role from Garcon/Collie right away?

[Worth a look]Jacoby Jones, HOU (28%) – Only useful in league’s that award for return yardage.

[Worth a look]Joshua Cribbs, CLE (21%) – See Jacoby Jones.

[Worth a look]Malcom Floyd, SD (2%) – Hasn’t been all that consistent that year, but he’s a big target for Philip Rivers. Just keep an eye over the next few weeks to see if he keeps getting looks.

[Worth a look] * Mike Thomas, JAX (1%) – asdf

[Stopgap] * Torry Holt, JAX (77%) – Holt has almost 200 yards in his past two games and gets plenty of looks on a consistent basis from his quarterback.

[Stopgap]Antonio Bryant, TB (68%) – He’s not going to do anything special in this offense, but he might be worth a spot-start given the match-up (not this week against the Patriots though!)

[Stopgap]Andre Caldwell, CIN (38%) – Caldwell has been pretty consistent this season and has even more value in a league that awards for kick returns.

[Stopgap]Earl Bennett, CHI (36%) – He hasn’t found the endzone yet, but Cutler still throws his way with some consistency and is good for 3-8 points each week.

[One-week-wonder]Dennis Northcutt, DET (12%) – Nortcutt saw more reps with Calvin Johnson out (knee injury.) Don’t expect that this will be a regular thing.

[One-week-wonder]Robert Meachem, NO (11%) – WAY to inconsistent for my liking. If he can get his reception numbers up to three or four a game I may re-evaluate his spot on this list.

[One-week-wonder]James Jones, GB (1%) – IF he catches the ball, it’s usually a deep one, but his risk is far higher than his reward at this point.

[One-week-wonder]Laveranues Coles, CIN (35%) – If you take away the touchdown, it was just one more disappointing game for one of the off-season’s disappointing acquisitions.

[One-week-wonder]Lee Evans, BUF (65%) – Evans was inconsistent to begin with, but now with the quarterback position in question, who knows how erratic he’ll be.

[One-week-wonder]Sammie Stroughter, TB (1%) – One week is not enough to prove that Stroughter is a viable fantasy option…especially with the questions marks surrounding the quarterback position in Tampa Bay.

You’re welcome. I picked up Sammy Morris last week and he got injured. Darren Sproles happens to be on the waiver wire so should I grab him, or Wells? Maroney’s on there too but you only listed him as a stopgap. I have relatively solid RBs, just need a decent bench player that I can maybe play for matchups or whatever. Thanks.

Shirley, I’d stay away from Sproles as Tomlinson’s role will be near back to normal next week. Wells is also a liability since all signs point to him having little to no involvement in the Arizona offense for the rest of the year

If you need a guy for just this week, then Maroney is your man. Judging by the players you listed, it sounds like your waiver wire is pretty dry. Nevertheless, Fargas is a decent option too if he’s available. All signs point to him being the workhorse in Oakland in the coming weeks.

Call me crazy, but for some reason I think Laurence Maroney will have a great game against the Bucs in front of the Brits this Sunday. If you don’t want to take the risk though, I prefer Ricky Williams at home over the Mike “Vulture” Bell.

Agreed. I grabbed Maroney as a bye week fill-in in several leagues. Quite honestly he pretty much has to get the ball with Morris out. Something tells me the the Patriots will be in garbage time by the 3rd quarter which makes him an even better option.

i gotta a big question and would love the advice i got a trade offer. i am being offered Fitz, Fred Jackson, and Willie Parker for Brandon Jacobs, and Brandon Marshall.
should i pull the trigger? i got depth at WR with smith(nyg), L.Moore, D. Mason, and Knox. but i need RB hlep has Forte is weak right now. thanks a lot

I’m not sure I can agree with E-Roc on this one. Brandon Jacobs should improve over his current numbers this year, meaning you will start him and Forte more often than you would Fred Jackson and/or Willie Parker. I’d stick with the guys you have unless you can exchange Fred Jackson and Willie Parker for a true RB1.

Stay away unless you really love Fitz. Marshall will score near as many points so it’s not much of an upgrade. As Brandon said, Jacobs will be picking up speed sometime soon and its a major downgrade at RB if you accept the trade.

Fred Jackson is slowly being phased out of the run game by Buffalo and Willie Parker just lost his starting job when Mendenthal was announced the team’s new starter from here on out.

It looks like the guy could use an upgrade at running back, but if you give up Chris Johnson or Ronnie Brown, you’ll be in a similar boat.

I see that he wants to offload Witten because he thinks he has a solid TE in Jermichael Finley, so you need to use that to your advantage and try to get the upper hand in any trade. If you come up with any ideas, let us know and we’ll give you our feedback, but otherwise it’s a bit tough to dream up possible scenarios.

-What do you think Jerricho Cotchery will do down the stretch? Is he worth hanging on to, or should I drop him in favor of Berrian or Moore or someone?
-What about Matt Forte, or as I’ve taken to calling him, “Khan”? Can I get anything decent in a trade, or am I stuck with him?

Hang on to Cotchery for at least another week to see what the offense looks like with him and Braylon playing. I have a hunch that he may actually have increased production with less of a coverage blanket.

I’m sorry to hear you are a Forte owner. I suppose all is not lost but you need to trade him ASAP. His playoff schedule stinks and he just did nothing during the easy part of his year. Try going high at first. You may be able to entice a Rice owner to trade if that team happens to need a by week RB. Scale your way through the ranks. Try for Slaton, Benson, Marion Barber, Kevin Smith, and even Mendenthal (who just got named the starter). You have some time yet but don’t keep your expectations too high. I’d say take what you can get.

I love Lance Moore for the rest of the season, so if you can get him on your squad, do it ASAP. However, is Cotchery the only option you have in terms of getting him? If you think you can wait a week, then do so, but you might miss the Lance Moore boat if you wait too long (he’s already picked up in waivers of all my leagues this week.)

As for Matt Forte, he won’t have any trade value until he starts putting up numbers (or if you have a huge Bears fan in your league.) Keep him and hope he turns things around in times for a late season push.

While I hate the idea of giving up Randy Moss (I think he’ll be huge for the rest of the year), this trade would definitely boost your RB group. Could you possibly get a little better receiver than Mason? Also, where are you in the standings? If you’re at the bottom of the league, you might consider this trade a bit more readily than if you’re one of the top guys. At face value though, I think I’m leaning towards recommending you make this trade.

I’m 3and3 and tied for first in my division. The other receivers the guy has are: Marshall (who he won’t trade), Cotchery, Mason, and Holt.
I might be able to squeeze another back like Lesean McCoy or Jamal Lewis out of him for one of my scrubs.
What do you think? Thanks.

I need some serious help. I have slaton, maroney, and benson….wr’s i have colston, vjax, miles austin, collie and j knox. I have to have at least two rb’s but I can have 3. Which five of these guys should I start……I’m freakin out____

I have Marshall & MSW on bye this week, so Steve Smith (CAR), Collie, and Coles have to start. On TE, Carlson is on bye, and I have McMichael. Should I address TE (V Davis) or WR (Austin, Nicks, or
L Moore) from the waiver wire this week? Thanks!!

If you’re looking for touchdowns, I think you have to go with Ricky Williams and Rashard Mendenhall. I’d actually start them no matter the scoring system, but in a TD-heavy league they’re definite starts.

Frank Gore is healthy and looks like he will play this week against Houston. Should i pick him up as my #1 RB? Who else would be a good choice this week? This week looks like a tough one for most running backs this week in my opinion. The only people that should fare well would be

Should I go Randy Moss or Hines Ward? and I’m trying to pick a #2 RB this week. I have Williams as #1 not quite sold on Gore this week, will see how the ankle holds up. The #2 Rbs that are available
Tomlinson
Maroney
Marshawn Lynch
Larry Johnson(don’t like him that much)
clinton portis
Jonathan Stewart

You can’t play both Moss AND Ward? Go with Randy Moss if you can’t, as he has the most potential for multi-touchdown games. As for your running back, I like Maroney the most out of that group, although I also like LT and Stewart has a great match-up.